As the calendar moves closer to Oct. 5, mundane problems and school matters fade in importance until there is only one thing on most student’s minds: homecoming.

Not necessarily how fun it’s going to be, though; for many students, the consideration is over the amount of money they are going to spend on the dance this year.

“$20 is way too much money to pay for a dance ticket,” sophomore Paige Sasche said.

Unfortunately, the chance to buy tickets at that price is over.  Each week leading up to dance, the price increases with prices currently $30.

Ticket prices, while viewed unreasonable, actually have a purpose. The members of Student Council, who sponsor the homecoming dance, need to know how many snacks and refreshments to buy. The only reasonable way to do that is to get the tickets to sell early so they know how many people are coming, which is why the prices rise over time.

“The prices rise so people are more inclined to buy the tickets earlier, and we have a rough estimate of how many students will attend the dance,” STUCO president Ben Prengler said. “We need to know how many cookies and drinks to buy, how many tickets to make. It just makes sense.”

Homecoming is an expensive time of the year, for both guys and girls; the purchase of mums, garters, and tickets is costly for most. However, it’s worth it to some.

“I think it’s worth it,” sophomore Caroline Doran said. “The dance is fun, and ok it’s a little expensive, but a lot fun things are expensive.”

With many students not having their own income, the hope was that they would be more likely to purchase their ticket when they only cost $20.

“I don’t want to spend much money either, I’m just like the next guy,” Prengler said. “But we advertise a lot, we get the word out there. We want people to buy it while it’s cheaper.”